Letter: First, county proposes stormwater fees; will fees on oxygen be next?

Marion County is proposing a fee to create and maintain county stormwater programs that would be used to build the infrastructure for this countywide program.

This fee would be between $5 and $7 per month per residence/business located in specific areas and would be an ongoing charge with no end specified.

This is an interesting way to impose and collect a new tax without taking it to the voters. You call it a fee, limit the fee to specific areas of the county and use the funds to benefit the entire county. If you don’t pay, the county will put a lien on your property.

Another interesting fact is that you are paying a fee based on an act of God. Rain, snow, hail and any weather has been recognized as an act of God. The rains come, create stormwater, and then property owners who have a home in a specific area are going to have to pay a fee based on stormwater they did not create.

If this “fee” is allowed to be imposed, it will not be long before a fee is created for using the county’s oxygen and will not include the pollution fee for exhaling.